1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information processing apparatuses each constructed with a display device, an input device and external equipment as required that are connected thereto. In particular, the invention relates to an information processing apparatus having a graphical user interface for executing predetermined processing by a drag and drop operation of an icon.
2. Description of the Background Art
With the advance of information processing technique of these days, a method is prevailing by which a user manipulates an information processing apparatus in interactive manner. In the information processing apparatus such as personal computer, portable information device and the like, a graphical user interface is provided to display a group of icons on a screen of a display device which is connected to or placed in the information processing apparatus and accordingly perform basic operations such as execution of a program, file processing and the like.
By the graphical user interface mentioned above, an icon displayed on the screen that represents a file is dragged by a pointing device such as mouse and the like for input to an icon representing an execution program for processing the file or an icon representing a file set so as to execute information processing using that file or changing the storage location of the file. A method and a user interface for implementing this are known and one example thereof is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,984.
This disclosure teaches a method and a computer system for implementing a graphical user interface with enhanced operability. This graphical user interface enables a user to open or close an enclosure such as window by dragging an object (icon) such as file using a mouse and the like. When a window including a destination icon is closed on which the icon is to be dropped, another icon is dragged to an icon which represents the closed window and then any manipulation is conducted so that the closed window is automatically opened.
An information processing system is well-known which connects a printer as peripheral equipment and a personal computer or portable information device as information processing apparatus by means of network connection such as LAN or one-to-one connection and uses a pointing device such as mouse and an input device such as keyboard so as to output any document from the printer by dragging an icon displayed on a screen and representing the document to an icon representing the printer.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 6-59838, for example discloses a printer control system employed in the conventional system described above by which an icon representing a printer is changed after printing processing to display a print waiting status and then the icon is further manipulated to enable a job in a queue to be processed.
A graphical user interface for facilitating processing between a printer and an information processing apparatus as discussed above is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-244843. The invention disclosed therein aims to achieve a structure which integrates various setting items relating to the printer as desired and displays them for setting. An information processing system is disclosed therein, for example, by which a controller associated with sheet setting is designated and dragged to a location in a space of a user defined panel, then the controller is copied in that space. Accordingly, a plurality of controllers are displayed simultaneously on the user defined panel so that a plurality of items can be set using each controller on the user defined panel.
However, when predetermined processing is to be carried out in the conventional information processing apparatus, if a dragged icon of a file is dropped on an icon representing a start-up program, a group of icons, a printer or the like, the processing is started on default setting conditions. In this case, a desired change in setting cannot be made before the start of the processing.
In the above information processing system connecting the information processing apparatus and the printer, for example, when print processing is to be started, an icon representing document is dragged to and dropped on an icon representing the printer according to the conventional manner. Even if setting regarding a sheet to be used, magnification and the like should be changed for printing, the document would be printed with contents according to default setting (initial setting) and thus change in setting before starting the processing is impossible.
A problem in U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,984 and Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 6-59838 is accordingly that change in various settings for printing is impossible when an icon representing document to be printed is dragged to and dropped on an icon representing the printer because the printing program is just started with the default setting.
According to a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-244843, just a copy of an item of setting is implemented by the drag and drop operation between windows. The drop operation cannot start a printing program. The manipulation is redundant in that a setting item is changed and thereafter a document icon should again be dragged to and dropped on a printer icon.
According to the conventional techniques described above, the printing operation is supported by employing the graphical user interface which enables printing with a simple drag and drop operation. Nevertheless, troublesome manipulation is required in changing printing setting from the previous setting or initial setting status, by setting printer conditions first and then issuing a printing instruction by a usual manner or performing the drag and drop operation after the setting.